It has long been my intention to organise my growing mass of photos and document the events surrounding the shot. To that end this will initially be a historic record starting mostly in 2011. The photos were generally taken using a Lumix FZ38, hand held and without any close up lens.
I shall begin in April last year when I set out to get a photo of a Pearl Bordered Fritillary with the wings closed. I had been reliably informed that these insects roost on bracken and that was the best time to get a shot with the wings closed. Late one afternoon I set out for a little known site fairly close to me where a small colony could be found. It was still warm and sunny and the butterflies were very active so I waited patiently for the sun to go down. As afternoon turned into early evening the Pearl Bordered Fritillaries became more settled but spread their wings to soak up the last rays of sun.
As the last of the sun's rays disappeared the Pearl Bordered Fritillaries promptly flew up into the neighbouring pine trees to roost in a perfect pose, wings closed, just out of reach!! Frustration just didn't come close as I had to leave empty handed so to speak. I was so disappointed I lay awake for a long time that night determined not to be beaten. Undeterred, At 4.00am the next morning I collected the stepladder and fifteen minutes later I was carrying it through the woods. I easily located my butterfly who had not moved and just as the light came up I got the shot I wanted before returning home for a well deserved breakfast.
My next target was to be the Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary which I had never seen before. Adrian (Hoskins) had offered to accompany me to Bentley Wood and point me in the right direction for the Pearls. I had tried in the past to get to Bentley Wood on more than one occasion but a series of incidents had always prevented it. The last time I had managed to get half way when a large vehicle ran into the back of me and my car was written off!! Ah well, third time lucky I thought. Adrian is very knowledgeable about butterflies and I am told the butterfly tours he organises to Peru and other far flung places are excellent. His website, Learnaboutbutterflies is definitely worth a look.
By the time we arrived at Bentley Wood we could see that the many photographers who were already there were packing up their equipment as the storm clouds were gathering and the first drops of rain were falling. Undeterred, Adrian led the way to the clearing and with the unsettled weather we were easily able to locate a number of Small Pearl Bordered Fritillaries which were very easy to photograph.
My next port of call was Botany Bay at Chiddingfold to see the first brood of the wonderful Wood White, a butterfly which is high on my list of favourites. They are such charming, delicate creatures and look so ethereal.
....... and another. I could continue to take photos of this species and never get bored with them.
During one of my many happy visits to Botany Bay I met up with Susie who highly recommended a vist to Denbies which is one of her regular haunts. Aberrations are frequently reported from this site so off I set. I seem to be unlucky with the weather quite often but I have learnt from experience not to let this deter me. Nevertheless, these storm clouds were quite daunting.
I found very few butterflies that day and below is one of them. Technically, it is probably not a very good photo but I like it and that is good enough reason to include it.
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